Secret of the Moon
by Wing Pikepaw
Summary: Something I wrote a while ago...just thought you might be interested. Summary-James, Sirius, Peter and Remus all meet and the first three must uncover the secret of why Remus goes somewhere every month-and who follows him.
1. Friends and an Enemy

_Note-Before I make a complete fool of myself, you may be wondering why a Master and Commander and Redwall fan is writing about Harry Potter. Well, first off, I like Harry Potter! (Duh) I want to write in all areas that interest me, and I've always wondered how Remus, James, and Sirius met. If you wanted some soppy love story about James and Lily, (I've seen a lot of those) I suggest you go somewhere else, because this has nothing to do with them meeting, etc. I happen to think that Remus Lupin is a very cool character and I've always wanted to write about him, so here goes:_

Remus Lupin peered through the glass in the compartment door. Two boys about his age were sitting there, deep in conversation. Remus hesitated, then opened the door.

The boys looked up. They both had dark hair, but Remus could tell they weren't related. "Hi," he offered. "Er, is anyone sitting here? I can't find anywhere else."

They studied him. The boy on the left, who had glasses and was taller and skinnier than the other boy, nodded and said, "Sure. I'm James Potter, and this is-" "Sirius Black," the other boy broke in. He moved over and patted the seat beside him. "Here, sit down. What's your name?"

"Remus Lupin," Remus said. He was already beginning to relax. Maybe he would make friends this year after all. Both of them seemed friendly and acted like they wanted to talk some more with him, so they did.

As the sky darkened outside the scarlet Hogwarts Express, Remus, James, and Sirius got to know each other better. They talked about Hogwarts and what they had heard about it, ate magical snacks that the lady with the trolley sold, and exchanged stories about what they had done over the summer.

For a while, Remus forgot all his worries about coming to Hogwarts, but when they got off the train, a half-moon bathed him in clear, bluish light. He leapt out of the patch of moonlight like it was a pool of acid, but then he realized it was a half-moon and blushed with embarrassment.

"Something wrong?" James asked curiously as the crowed jostled him into Remus's back, pushing him forward.

"Oh, er, no, of course not," lied Remus. His heart was sinking. Already, they had noticed something strange about him. From their conversation on the train, Remus knew Sirius and James were not stupid-in fact, they were downright observant. How could he keep friends like that if they noticed where he went every month?

But James seemed to have forgotten about it by the time they reached Great Hall. He and Remus had been separated from Sirius in the crowd, but after the first years broke off from the rest of the school, they were easily able to find him again.

James was standing on the steps waiting for Professor McGonagall to come back and usher them into the Sorting, nervously shifting from foot to foot. A dark haired, sallow-skinned boy brushed past him roughly, almost causing him to fall. He didn't even turn to apologize.

Sirius and Remus looked up from where they had been talking with some other first years when James shouted indignantly, "Hey!"

The sallow-skinned boy turned around. He had a hooked nose and greasy looking hair, and wore a mean expression. He took in James and sneered.

"Aren't you going to apologize? You almost knocked me down!" James said angrily.

"So?" the other boy said, shrugging. "I don't care."

"Well, I do," said James firmly. "Who are you, anyways?"

"Severus Snape, if it's any of your business, which it's not," Snape replied silkily. He ruined this affect by wiping his nose on his sleeve. He apparently had a cold.

"I'm James Potter," James growled, "and it's my business if you don't apologize for knocking into me. You did that on purpose!"

"Yes, I know, Potter," Snape said maliciously. He drew his wand and narrowed his eyes at James. "Now shut up and don't talk to me if you know what's good for you."

Remus and Sirius came to stand behind James. Seeing that he was outnumbered, Snape hissed, "We'll see about this, Potter!"

James was about to say more, but Professor McGonagall opened to doors to the Great Hall and announced, "The Sorting is about to begin!"


	2. The Sorting

The first years filed after Professor McGonagall quietly, staring around the Great Hall with open mouths. Sirius stumbled as someone stepped on his foot. Thinking it was Snape, he turned around to shove him, but it was a small, mousy-haired boy with quick, darting eyes.

"Sorry!" the boy mumbled. "I didn't mean to."

"That's okay," Sirius said, relaxing. "I thought you were someone else. What's your name? I'm Sirius Black."

The boy extended a hand. Sirius noticed that his fingernails had been chewed with distaste, but shook it anyway. The boy seemed excited to meet him. "I'm Peter Pettigrew, nice to meet you! What house d'you think you'll be in?"

Sirius shrugged. "Dunno...." he said vaguely. He looked around as Professor McGonagall began calling off the names of people to be sorted. After "Bentshire, Zachary," Sirius heard his name. "Black, Sirius!"

Sirius walked up to Professor McGonagall and put the hat on. A small voice said in his ear, "Ah, yes, another Black, eh? Well...wait a moment....I see you're different from the rest, aren't you? Simple, really...GRYFFINDOR!"

After realizing that this name had been shouted aloud to the rest of the hall, Sirius slid off the stool, grinning, and joined the Gryffindor table. He waited until it was Remus's turn, noticing that when his name was called, Madam Pomfrey and Dumbledore leaned forward to study him.

Remus glanced uncomfortably at the teachers and let the hat slide over his eyes. He heard the voice mutter approvingly, "Oh, difficult, very intelligent, well, you'd have to be, to cover that up....well, that's all right. Brave too, very brave....and loyal, if you get friends you trust....in that case, GRYFFINDOR!"

With a sigh of relief, Remus walked over and sat down across from Sirius. They both applauded when Peter was sorted into Gryffindor as well, waited as "Pollem, Katie" was sorted into Hufflepuff, and cheered when James was also sorted into Gryffindor. Dumbledore stood up and welcomed new students, then encouraged them to dig into the feast.

After a welcome meal, the four dragged their over-stuffed selves upstairs and collapsed into their new dormitories, eager for their first day as students at Hogwarts.


End file.
